1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pen recorder that effects printing by relatively moving a recording sheet and a pen in the X-Y directions while selectively using a plurality of pens for different colors.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recent various data processing apparatus employ a pen recorder as an output device for drawing characters and figures in multiple color. This pen recorder selectively uses pens for different colors for drawing characters and figures by relatively moving a recording sheet and a selected pen in the X-Y directions.
Hitherto, such a mechanism for selecting one of a plurality of pens is known as having a solenoid mechanism mounted on a movable base which is adapted to press the pens individually. This mechanism, however, causes an increase in size as well as weight of the movable base to make the recorder as a whole larger in size, disadvantageously. Moreover, such a mechanism has recently been spread as having a rotary pen holder mounted on a movable base to select one of a plurality of pens through the rotation of the pen holder. In this mechanism, however, a driving mechanism for changing over the pens is complicated, and it is difficult to make the recorder as a whole thinner owing to the vertical dimension of the pen holder. In addition, the rotary pen holder is rotated a predetermined angle in order to select a pen of a given color; therefore, when the rotation angle is large the solenoid and the like must be repeatedly operated, so that the time required for changing over the pens is unfavorably long.